Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-09-09
GOLDEN PRECEPTS.
EXPLANATORY NOTES BY REV. r.
S. M'ARTHUR, D. D.

| Lesson nj OF the international series
Third Quarter for Sunday, Sept. IL.
Text of the Lesson, Matt. vi, Liz.
Golden Text, Matt. vii, 1a.
V. l. Judge not.-This prohibition is
against rash, harsh and censorious judgment
Judicial and official judgments are not pro-
hbited; neither is the formation and express
sion of opinion prohibited. That ye be not
judged. 1.-The judgment warned against is the
Judgment Of God He who cherishes an I'm
kind spirit against his neighbor makes him
self liable to the severe Judgment of God
luke vi, 81; John viii, z; Romans, xiv, TO-
! 13). The impersonal form, however leaves
to each of US to decide who the Judge is
This makes the judgment oil the more SOL
emn. 1t is equally certain that those who
indulge In harsh judgments will, by the or
binary laws of life, be the victims of harsh
judgments.
" 2. With what judgment, etc.-This is an
amplifcation of the thought already ex
pressed. Some have supposed that this part
of the discourse was suggested by the presence
and attitude Of some censorious Pharisees
one of whom our Lord addresses in the follow
| ing verse;
v. 8. Why beholdest thou the, etc-Our
| Lord now adopts the direct and personal
form of address. Those who possess the spirit
of harsh criticism are sure to censure those
who are less open to censure than themselves
This truth Christ now makes plain. The
mote-This is a minute particle of wood. 1t
may stand for small sticks twigs with
which birds build their nests Here it stands
for small fault. But the beam, on the con-
trary, is joist, a rafter. Here it refers to a
gross fault The language is emblematic and
/ l. - al; Act haa TO L..
your fault o critic, to the fault of him whom
you harshly censure. Considerest not-A
stronger word than beholdest. Instead of
gazing intently at the mote in our brothers
eye-the word mote Is used to express differ
ence as to size, but not of material-we should
attentively scrutinize the huge beam which is
in our own This exaggerated form of ex.
preston presents in a most forceful way the
great difference between our brothers fault
and our own Brother.-Used as among
Christians
V. g. Thou hypocrite. direct and per-
sonal form Of address is still maintained
One who acts part, who assumes character
not bis own, who pretends to be rigid moral
list while he is a great sinner. First cast
This Is the true course to pursue Subject
thyself to the closest scrutiny and examina-
ton Correct thine own faults; then thine
eye will be clear to see at Its proper dimen-
sions the fault Of thy brother. This Ia sound
common sensa
". Here there Is turn In the thought,
showing that we are to judge within proper
limits There may be laxity In judging on
moral questions which Is as censurable as I'M
due severity. We may withhold our con-
demnation and thereby incur guilt. We are
not to treat bad and good men alike. Dogs,
swine-The dog among the Jews was IN
clean. The name became a term Of reproach
and utter contempt. Dogs were the scavengers
of the cities They prowled about for food;
they ran wild, had no owners, lived on refuse,
and had no attachment to any one; they were
ravenous and abominable Swine were also
unclean. They have no desire higher than to
fill themselves The term became the synonym
of all that was degraded aud degrading.
Dogs and swine well represent the coarse and
brutal foes OF purity and religion. Holy
. pearls.-Whatever was dedicated to
Gods service was regarded as holy; whatever
had been offered on the altar. This would
include the shewbread and all 6eshy sacrifices.
The pearl has been always held In high
esteem In modern and ancient times 1t oc-
cupies a prominent place among the orna-
ments Of kings and palaces We may not
accept any Of the traditions Of its heavenly
beauty and market value. To give the offers
and promises OF the Gospel to coarse, sensual,
captious, atheistic men is as If one should cast
that which Is holy to dogs, and pearls to
swine. The tsnderest feelings Of Christian
experience are not to be spoken Of in mixed
society, neither are the corrections to mems
faults to be given without discretion
VT. Ask, seek, knock.-We need wisdom
In dealing with boys and girls and men and
women For that wisdom we must pray.
We need wisdom SO that we may not have
undue care and anxiety for food and raiment;
hence the exhortation to pray. To be critical
and yet charitable is a hard matter; hence
the duty Of prayer. We have here three
fold command 1t presents the duty Of
prayer under different aspects, reaching q
climax The initial letters Of each word give
us the word task" Ask-I.e, make known
your desire TO God Seek is a step in advance.
This is to earnestly implore God. Knock
This is to continue asking and seeking.
V. g. In this verse the promises Of the pre-
ceding verses are repeated. They are also
made present reality. He that asketh re-
ceiveth. The tense is present; he receives
here and now. Shall be opened. man
nscrinfe mako this also n Drasant tense sis